jay helfert
Verified Member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2006
- Messages
- 633
SJDinPHX said:The Fat's promoter's, all the way from Jay, Freddy, and on down to the Grey Ghost, are missing the entire thrust of this dialogue.
No one is saying Fat's was not a great promoter/con man/etc., but some of us are trying to point out... that WITHOUT the movie, Fats would have languished in obscurity, just like ALL the other great player's, con men, and hustler's, that ALL of us "insider's", have been privy to forever.
Whatever the VERY SMALL circle of pool enthusiasts thought, Fatty would NEVER have become a household name, WITHOUT the movie.
We can argue about his playing skills, or his lack thereof. We can argue about whether Tevis had him in mind when he wrote the book..as GG said we can argue about what he would have been, had TV been mainstream when Fat's was in his prime, which is really a stretch, because TV never really gave a s--t about pool anyway.
The bottom line is 99.9 % of the people in this country NEVER even heard of "Minnesota, Triple smart, or NY Fat's" (or for damn sure Rudolph Wanderone Jr).....UNTIL AFTER 1961.
After the movie, he became a name synonamous with pool...for generations to come.
I personally loved the character he was, but I resent Steve Booth saying my life would have been different without Fat's notariety. My life decisions had NOTHING to do with the the success of the movie..or the Fat man.
The movie "The Hustler" was the catalyist that created the resurgence of pool during my day. Fatty was just the one who was able to capitalize on it the most. He kept it alive for a little longer, and I can appreciate that...but when the TCOM movie came out (in the 80's)...he was just a footnote.
And Lastly, I voted, and promoted him, for ANY HOF award befitting of his accomplishments.
In fact I think he deserves "special" recognition of some kind. But it amazes me to see how many choose to ignore, what a REAL GOOD break he got... in 1961.
He may have deserved it...but it was still a Hell of a leg up. Where is the argument in that ?
Sorry Dick. You don't get to rewrite history. What happened, happened. It's like discussing the chicken and the egg. Fats saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. And more importantly he pulled it off. I doubt anyone else could have, given the circumstances.
No one was able to capitalize on the name Fast Eddie, even though a few tried. They didn't have the gift for promotion like Fats had. Once again he was a unique character, and who knows, if there hadn't have been a movie he may have found another way into the limelight. One appearance on TV talk show and he may have been rolling.